Sydney-based services player, Klikon Solutions, has recruited Tony Heywood as general manager of sales as part of a broader company expansion plan.
Heywood will takeover the day-to-day job from director, David Abouhaidar, who will adopt a more strategic role focusing on marketing and vendor relationships.
“Four or five months ago, we started looking into how we can grow the business and there were a couple of key things: Put more time into marketing and vendor management, as well as move from a director-led to management-led organisation,” managing director, Harry Kassianou, said. Bringing on Heywood would give Klikon the extra pair of management hands it needed to meet its aggressive growth targets, he said.
“We could keep doing what we are doing, or go for growth over the next three years,” he said. “The plan now is to build new alliances and new technology focus areas.”
Heywood, who was previously eastern sales director for ASX-listed ComputerCorp, was retrenched last month after the company restructured its management team. He said Klikon offered him an opportunity to get back into a niche integrator and help it grow.
“Resellers don’t deliver alliances with vendors very well,” Heywood said. “You have to do that well and give that focus.”
Abouhaidar said it was important to know who the right vendor people are, engage with vendors more closely and put the technology solutions into context. Klikon’s major partners are IBM, HP, Cisco and CA.
“Personally, I needed somebody who I could work with and who was a natural fit with the way I run our team, and Tony was it,” Abouhaidar said.
Klikon plays in the SMB and mid-market space and prides itself on its professional services background and methodology. Key verticals include health insurance, financial and funds managements. Kassianou said its growth plans could include bolt-on acquisitions to build out its infrastructure business.
“We’ve been flying under the radar for some time, but it’s getting harder to do as we compete against the bigger players. We are cash positive and ready to invest,” Abouhaidar said.
